Bought a supposedly rebuilt th350 with 500 miles on it. It's been installed in the car already, and I just pulled the pan to install the kick down cable. Seems to be a lot of material in the pan...... I'm hoping it's just all the new internals clearencing themselves. Anyone have any insight as to if this is to be expected or if I have to contemplate the severity of my next actions.....
Change the screen and put a magnet in the pan (maybe a drain plug too). More than likely clutch residue from "seating"... ws
I'm worried about filling my new convertor and cooler with crap.... I have a new gasket and filter but I'm terrified about putting it back together and running it now. Don't need a Trans grenading ruining a new crate 383... Is there any risk of engine damage if something did go on the Trans?
The filter is sized to keep damaging particles above the screen size out of circulation, so you should be able to reassemble without a lot of worry. Unless the trans locked up somehow, a failure will not harm the engine. You will probably experience slip as the first symptom.
Since you stated that it was material and not shavings, I would think you were seeing normal clutch wear material. How did the color look? Did the fluid smell burnt? As others have mentioned it is a good idea to change fluid, install new screen and magnets. If you don't have a drain plug in the pan, now is a good time to pick up a pan that does. Tony
I had a 1967 Mustang as a kid with a 289 and found 3 things that Ford did right; they put drain plugs in the gas tank, trans pan, and in the torque converter. ws
Yeah but not having a drain plug forces you to take the pan down. If not, you'd never see the sludge or change the filter.:grin:
Can you describe the material? Was it toilet paper? Was it wood? Did it appear to be biological? Was it a striped bass? So much for the humor. I pulled the pan from my '05 F150 a couple of years ago after about 60k miles to install a drain plug and change the filter and fluid in the pan. This was way earlier than stated in the maintenance guide. The magnet had collected ferrous goo - literally steel and/or iron and the consistency of the softest toothpaste (not that gritty stuff the dentist uses). There might have been 2 cubic centimeters of the stuff. Is this what you saw?
It may be that whatever the last car it was in they didn't flush the cooler . Or u didn't flush your cooler . If it's a lot of stuff on the magnet I would worry , that's most likely the pump gears in the pump cover. And yes you would be rather surprised to see how much stuff can be in the pan on a rebuild. But it won't be much on the magnet.
That is a fact. Every trans pan here has a piece of 1/4" thick steel brazed inside the back of the pan, and tapped for a 1/8" pipe thread plug. The clutches are supposed to be soaked in fluid, then clearance checked on assembly. Failing that you might get extra initial wear, but it may not be a long term problem if there is no metal. Bruce Roe
